NHL makes movement with new CBA offer

Faced with the possible embarrassment of another lost season due to a prolonged labor dispute, the NHL moved off its hard-line stance and tabled a new offer to the players in the latest attempt to breaking the current impasse.

Deputy commissioner Bill Daly confirmed the league's latest proposal in a statement Friday morning. The new offer, given to the players' union on Thursday, contains movement in the players' direction in terms of contract rights and salary variance.

Multiple outlets report that the NHL wants a 48-game season to start no later than Jan. 19, essentially creating a deadline in which a new collective bargaining agreement must be hammered out within the next two weeks or run the risk of a second canceled season in a span of eight years.

“In light of media reports this morning, I can confirm that we delivered to the union a new, comprehensive proposal for a successor CBA late yesterday afternoon," Daly said. "We are not prepared to discuss the details of our proposal at this time.

"We are hopeful that once the union's staff and negotiating committee have had an opportunity to thoroughly review and consider our new proposal, they will share it with the players. We want to be back on the ice as soon as possible.”

According to ESPN.com, the league offered to increase the limit on player contracts from five years to six and up the amount that a player's salary can vary between years from five percent to a maximum of 10 percent. The latter is to get rid of long-term deals where the dollar amount drops off sharply so teams will take less of a hit against the salary cap.

The NHL is also putting back on the table its offer of $300 million in deferred "make whole" payments to players currently under contract to offset money immediately lost when their share of hockey-related revenue dips from 57 percent to 50. A 10-year agreement with an opt-out for both sides after eight remains in place.

Other key parts of the proposal, as reported by ESPN.com, include:

-- Teams would operate under a $70 million cap ceiling this season as a transition move before it drops to $60 million for 2013-14.

-- Unrestricted free agency would remain at 27 years of age or seven years of NHL service. Current rules for entry-level contracts and salary arbitration also stay in place.

-- Each team would be able to make one "compliance buyout" of a player's contract with the amount not charged against its cap figure but against the players' share of revenue. Re-entry waivers would be eliminated.

-- The league also offered to increase revenue sharing from approximately $150 million to $200 million with creation of an industry growth fund to improve the revenue potential of the NHL and its lowest-grossing clubs.

Among other issues include a third-party arbitrator for the on-ice and off-ice discipline of players and the formation of joint committee between the NHL and NHLPA in areas of relations as well as the health and safety of players.

The NHL Players' Assn. is believed to be combing through the 300-page proposal and discussed it with its membership on a conference call. The union would not comment Friday on whether it will present a counteroffer but there will be a call with the NHL on Saturday with both sides likely meeting face to face on Sunday in New York.

Players were also told by the NHLPA to refrain from commenting on the offer but one unidentified Ducks player said he was cautiously optimistic, an often-uttered refrain during the back-and-forth nature of the negotiations.

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